Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,413 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Woodward were worth $402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WWD. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new stake in Woodward in the third quarter worth $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Woodward during the third quarter worth $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Woodward by 101.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 246 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward in the third quarter valued at $69,000. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD opened at $184.10 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $175.17 and its 200 day moving average is $169.32. The stock has a market cap of $10.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.39. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $133.56 and a 52-week high of $201.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The technology company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $855.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $810.39 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 11.22%. The business’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.64%.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 7,913 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total value of $1,385,803.69. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,015,921.43. This trade represents a 40.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total transaction of $430,968.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,764,325.91. This trade represents a 10.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 60,313 shares of company stock valued at $10,752,072. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on WWD. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Woodward from $197.00 to $193.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (down previously from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.11.

Woodward Profile

Woodward, Inc designs, manufactures, and services control solutions for the aerospace and industrial markets worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Aerospace and Industrial. The Aerospace segment provides fuel pumps, metering units, actuators, air valves, specialty valves, fuel nozzles, and thrust reverser actuation systems for turbine engines and nacelles, and flight deck controls, actuators, servocontrols, motors, and sensors for aircraft.